A Leadership Guide for Small Business Owners
Every manager should strive to become a good leader. Becoming a good leader does not happen overnight. It takes time to cultivate your leadership and ensure that the organisation’s vision, and not just the mere execution of various tasks, is the key priority. Leadership is active, not passive. Below are four (4) strategies for becoming an effective business leader in your small business.
1.) Lead by Example
Leadership is defined through action. The best leaders seek to work alongside those they lead, not over them. Too often, many leaders use their managerial titles as crutches to excuse their own poor behavior instead of earning the respect of their team by leading by example. Great leaders are not afraid to admit that they are not perfect. They recognize and own up to their mistakes using them as learning experiences for themselves and their teams. If you want to be seen as a leader, you must act like one. You are accountable for your business. Your employees will look to you for guidance and knowledge. Great leaders seek to inspire those around them and are continuously learning and innovating. The ability to come up with new and innovative ideas that propel a business forward is what allows leaders to be successful in the long run. At the end of the day, an organisation’s culture is a reflection of its leaders.
2.) Share Your Vision
Every business should have a clear and concise vision statement. This inspirational statement identifies what the organisation would like to accomplish or achieve. Having a clear vision, and sharing it, is essential to good leadership. By sharing your vision for your business with your team, you help them to understand how they fit in to your organisation – and the valuable contribution they provide to realizing the goals of the company. People will follow you not because of who you are or what you do but because they believe in your mission and vision.
3.) Use Time Wisely
The key to effective business leadership is being proactive rather than reactive. Great leaders plan ahead and actively seek to identify potential problems and solve them before they become time consuming crises. They are also flexible and adapt their plans to new circumstances and opportunities. They practice effective decision-making and communication respecting not only their own time but also that of their employees. Rather than engaging in outdated drawn out meetings, they find new ways to communicate with their team that are quick and effortless. Great leaders focus on productivity outputs and allow employees to work flexibly in the ways which they find most efficient whether it be solo, in teams, at home or at the office. Today’s workforce appreciates leaders who respect their time. Employees who feel respected and valued are more likely to strive to meet the goals of the organisation.
4.) Empower Your Team
Great business leaders seek to motivate and inspire their employees. Employees want to feel heard and valued for their contributions to the organisation. Being able to communicate with employees is an important leadership quality. Show them that you value what they have to say. Asking employees for input shows that you respect their opinions and trust their decisions. Good leaders recognize that employees are invaluable assets to business growth. Good leaders are also approachable. Have regular meetings with your employees, ask them how they are doing, and emphasize that your door is always open. Show that you are genuinely interested in them and their wellbeing, personally and professionally.
Avoid micromanaging employees at all costs. It can demoralize employees, limit creativity, and result in frustrated workers. Give employees the freedom to come up with innovative ideas and processes on their own. Be sure to recognize hard work through praise and other incentives. Great leaders also recognize that employees will make mistakes. Instead of reprimanding, judging or berating your employees when things go wrong, ask them what they learned. Then make sure they apply that new learning to their work to solve the problem. Progress takes patience, and a good leader understands that. The more time you spend actively helping your employees, the more empowered they will feel. Your support and investment in their future will help motivate them and they will in turn reward you and your business with commitment, hard work and great ideas.
Being an effective business leader is not an easy feat. It requires commitment and a consistent effort to develop one’s leadership skills. However, if you are willing to put in the effort you can become the leader your small business needs by utilizing these four key strategies for effective business leadership.
Written By Sherise Brooks
